title: Comparing drug effectiveness at health plans: the ethics of cluster randomized trials.
abstract: "Cluster randomized trials," in which groups of patients are randomly assigned to different therapeutic interventions, provide a powerful way of evaluating drugs. CRTs have not been widely used, in good part because of concerns about whether patients must give informed consent to participate in them. A better understanding of how CRTs fit into clinical practice resolves the concerns.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, USA.
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Sabin
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mazor
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Meterko
authors.forename: Sarah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Goff
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Platt
mesh_terms: D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003625:Data Collection; D006270:Health Facility Administrators; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000941:ethics*